The N750 million case brought against the Incorporated Trustees of the Deeper Life Bible Church and a one-time governorship aspirant in Abia State on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, (APGA) Chief Chike Udensi by an Abuja based realtor, Osita Opara before the High Court of the FCT would now be heard by the court.
The case which was brought before Justice U.P. Kekemeke in the suit marked CV/1756/2021 had Osita Opara through his lawyer, Okechukwu Okafor suing the duo, Deeper Life Church and Chief Chikwe Udensi for refusing to pay his five percent agency fee from a transaction involving the sum of N750 million, which he claimed avers sometime on February 3, 2020, when the defendants met him and engaged him to get them a mansion in Abuja.
Opara said he procured the property valued at N750 million as requested by Deeper Life Church and Chike Udensi and which put his agency fee as agreed at N37.5 million, being the five percent of the net value of the property. Both parties had agreed that Deeper Life Church would relinquish its former property to the second defendant in exchange for the new property procured by the claimant, Opara, but the claimant averred also that the defendants would jointly pay him the sum of N37.5 million as his agency fee as agreed by both parties, but when the contract was concluded, the defendants refused to pay the agreed sum, alleging their refusal to pay prompted his lawyer to write to the defendants, demanding the said fees, which made him (the claimant) to seek the order of the court to compel the defendants to pay him his N37.5 million for facilitating the purchase of the property.
When the matter came up in court, there were arguments between the lawyers of both the claimant, who also is the respondent and those of the 1st and 2nd defendants, prompting the trial judge, Justice Peter Kekemike, to adjourn the case till the 23rd of January 2024.
When the case came up for hearing last week, the 2nd defendant (Chief Chikwe Udensi) Notice of Objection dated 25th day of May, 2022 prayed the court for the following orders: 1. That the Writ of Summons has expired, 2. That 2nd Defendant was served with an expired writ.
The Court heard the argument of both parties on the Notice of Preliminary Objection. The Writ, the subject matter of this application was issued on the 27/07/21. It was served on the 1st Defendant (The Incorporated Trustees of Deeper Life Bible Church) on the 26/10/21 which was precisely within three months.
The 2nd Defendant, it was gathered was served the 14th of March, 2022 which was about eight months after the issuance of the Writ because it was difficult serving him as he had relocated from his known address. The court, however, said that at the time the 2nd Defendant was served, the Writ cannot be said to have expired as 1st Defendant was served within time.
The Claimant also gave a good and acceptable reason the Writ was not served on the 2nd Defendant on time and in the circumstance of this case, the Court had the jurisdiction to adjudicate on the case. The 2nd Defendant’s Notice of Preliminary Objection failed and was accordingly dismissed.